Erasure

Formed in London in 1985, Erasure brings together Vince Clarke, who had already been with Depeche Mode, Yazoo and The Assembly, and lead singer Andy Bell, from Peterborough. The duo initially aligned with the British new wave before asserting melodic synthpop, built on clear electronic arrangements, highly crafted pop choruses, and the alternation between dancing energy and more melancholic tones. After a debut with Wonderland in 1986, Erasure established themselves at the end of the 1980s and the beginning of the 1990s with a string of albums such as The Circus (1987), The Innocents (1988), Wild! (1989), Chorus (1991) and I Say I Say I Say (1994), as well as tracks like Sometimes, A Little Respect, Love to Hate You or Always. The group’s trajectory remains marked by a strong continuity, without split, with records that occasionally broaden the synthpop frame, such as the cover album Other People’s Songs (2003), the acoustic Union Street (2006), World Be Gone (2017), The Neon (2020) or Day-Glo (Based on a True Story) in 2022. Erasure has also developed a durable live presence in the United Kingdom, Europe, North America and South America, while preserving the central principle of the duo: Vince Clarke’s electronic writing and Andy Bell’s very upfront performance.